The Stranger, Halbrand, the Dweller, Adar, that devilish Dilly Brandyfoot – all were suspects to varying degrees, and the show fed speculation with red herrings, dead-end clues, and knowing teases. The Rings of Power episode 8 revealed Sauron, as many had already predicted, was hiding in plain sight all along. Sauron was Halbrand all along, which had also been suspected by many. The supposed Southlander Galadriel met on the Sundering Seas was Morgoth’s missing right-hand man. Rings of Power season 2 answers some questions about the enigmatic Sauron while raising others, but Tolkien’s lore provides clarity.
Was Halbrand Really Sauron?
Sauron Is A Shapeshifter
Yes, Charlie Vickers’ Halbrand was absolutely the real-deal Sauron. Of that, The Rings of Power’s season 1 ending left no doubt. He effortlessly bested the ancient elf Galadriel in their scuffle, which a mere mortal would have struggled with. During J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age, Sauron possessed the ability to shapeshift at will, and disguising himself as a mortal man evidently suited his purposes at this point in his Rings of Power comeback. With Halbrand’s secret out, viewers got to watch Sauron assume different forms throughout The Rings of Power season 2.
When Did Sauron Become Halbrand & Why?
Sauron’s Old Body Was Destroyed
The Rings of Power’s season 1 finale glossed over Sauron’s status, movements, and whereabouts before meeting Galadriel at sea in episode 2, but season 2 clarified. As Adar helpfully explained in episode 6 of season 1, Sauron began an Orc science project after Morgoth lost the War of Wrath, and the Moriondor believed he’d assassinated the Dark Lord. Adar was always going to be wrong, but what happened to Sauron between that angry altercation and greeting Galadriel? And when did the Halbrand guise come into play?
The last episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 drops on Thursday, October 3 at midnight PT.
The Rings of Power season 2 answers these questions in episode 1. Season 1 revealed that Sauron seized the Southlands’ crest from its last known king, who died 1000 years before the events of the show, and then assumed the identity of Halbrand. The opening flashback of season 2’s first episode confirmed that Adar and his Orcs did split Sauron open, as they said. Sauron was played by Jack Lowden here, who commented that this flashback showed events of about 1000 years before season 1. Sauron’s spirit lingered in his corpse’s blood, eventually forming his Halbrand body.
The Silmarillion confirms that Sauron is a shapeshifter. He can change his form and build a new one after his old one is destroyed. After Sauron was killed, his power left his body in a huge surge that froze Forodwaith and dissolved his body into its basics – thick, black blood. This ooze slowly caught prey and took energy from the protein, getting bigger and more humanoid until it finally caught a human and turned into Halbrand. It’s unclear how long it took Sauron to assume his Halbrand form, but it seems as if it may have taken the better part of 1000 years.
After taking his human form, Sauron, as Halbrand, made for Mordor but bumped into some Southlanders who had been attacked by Orcs. Sauron opportunistically joined the Southlanders on their journey to the coast, deciding to rebuild power away from Adar before tackling that hornet’s nest. One of these Southlanders carried the crest of the king, which Sauron didn’t hesitate to steal when they were attacked by a marine nameless thing on the ship they had all boarded. Thus, Halbrand the “King of the Southlands” was born, just before Galadriel encountered their shipwreck at sea.
How Much Of Halbrand’s Rings Of Power Arc Was Sauron’s Plan?
Sauron Was Planning His Comeback
The Dark Lord was a busy boy in The Rings of Power. While hiding under the pseudonym of Halbrand, Sauron managed to encounter the Elf warrior Galadriel, stoke trouble in Númenor, hunt down the follower who betrayed him, “accidentally” help create Mordor via volcanic explosion, then influence the Elves into crafting the Rings of Power. That string of greatest hits wasn’t down to pure dumb luck alone. To a certain extent, Sauron plotted his course in The Rings of Power with the ultimate intention of reaching Eregion and influencing Celebrimbor to craft the Rings.
Saving Galadriel at sea was likely a way of gaining her trust, since Sauron would need an Elf’s friendship to enter their realm. The excursion to Númenor allowed Sauron to widen the island’s political divide. Sailing to the Southlands meant Sauron could get revenge on Adar, and chasing the wrong sword hilt with Galadriel resulted in Mordor’s genesis. Since Sauron carved the Southlands symbol into Finrod’s chest, he clearly had plans for the region before Adar, and allowing the volcano to explode was likely part of his grand design.
After the eruption, Halbrand miraculously appeared with a near-mortal injury that only the Elves could heal (but still managed to ride a horse for six days), giving Galadriel the perfect excuse to take him to Eregion. Once in Eregion and beginning to get his claws into master smith Celebrimbor, Sauron’s overarching plan to forge the rings was in full swing. Really, the only snag in Sauron’s plan was Galadriel’s rejection. Sauron had to start over in season 2, but he wormed his way into Celebrimbor’s good favor with aplomb, getting his plan back on track.
Does Sauron Truly Repent For His Former Sins?
Sauron Has A Unique Conception Of Healing
Perhaps the most surprising thing about The Rings of Power’s Halbrand revelation was that Sauron seemed genuinely convinced he was a changed man. Speaking with Galadriel, he decried Morgoth and expressed a desire to “heal” Middle-earth, fixing the damage his defeated former master created. While Sauron certainly might’ve soured on Morgoth during those centuries spent in exile, his interpretation of “fixing” Middle-earth honors the classic fantasy villain trope of believing tyranny and order brings peace and prosperity. Sauron’s vision of “healing” involves him reigning supreme over all races, which he admits openly to Galadriel.
Moreover, the very fact Sauron is enacting his One Ring plan proves an intention to control Middle-earth through force – the “mastery over flesh” Celebrimbor parrots, before forging the Elven-rings. Sauron has not reformed. He hasn’t turned good, had a change of heart, or seen the error of his ways. In reality, Morgoth’s absence has created an opportunity for the sidekick to take center stage. Wanting to become Middle-earth’s great savior is a delusional lie – perhaps more to himself than to Galadriel. Whatever deceptions come from Halbrand’s lips, Sauron seeks power, control, and dominion in Amazon’s The Rings of Power.
How Powerful Is Sauron As Halbrand?
Sauron May Well Have Been At Full Power As Halbrand
When the Dweller, Nomad, and Ascetic were still under the impression that their mysterious Stranger was Sauron in The Rings of Power’s season 1 finale, they assumed his true Maiar powers hadn’t fully returned. This was more understandable as it applied to the Stranger since he had lost his memory, but did it apply to Halbrand? After losing the War of Wrath and suffering Adar’s betrayal, Sauron slowly regained strength over centuries. As Halbrand, The Rings of Power found Sauron able to shapeshift, fight battles, and cast spells again, including trapping Galadriel in her own mind in the season 1 finale.
His reliance on manipulating others might indicate that, as Halbrand, Sauron wasn’t yet at the peak strength he enjoyed before Morgoth’s First Age downfall. However, Sauron always was known for his cunning, rather than his brute force. And, as season 2 indicated, Sauron was able to enchant a Warg and a nameless thing into not eating him pretty early on into his tenure as Halbrand. Sauron could well have been at full strength as Halbrand, but if he wasn’t, he was certainly well on his way.
Why Does Sauron Help Celebrimbor Save The Elves?
Sauron Exploits The Elves’ Weakness To Rise To Power
The Elves were fading in The Rings of Power. The light of Valinor inside them was failing, and they had to either leave Middle-earth or juice up on mithril. In the Elves’ darkest moment, a surprising hero appeared: Halbrand. It was he who told Celebrimbor to use mithril as an alloy, whilst also suggesting they used it to craft items that preserved the entire race. It was Halbrand who suggested using rings instead of a crown, and who nudged Celebrimbor toward figuring out how the Dwarves’ precious mithril could be made into an alloy metal.
Was Sauron helping the Elves out of the goodness of his heart? Not a chance. While the Elves might have looked upon the disguised Sauron as a savior, his true intentions were revealed in The Lord of the Rings. Sauron needed Celebrimbor’s help to craft his Rings of Power, which were the main instruments in his plot to rule the world. In crafting the One Ring, Sauron could control the wearers of the other rings. The rings had many abilities, and the three Elven-rings really did prevent the decays of time. But this was secondary to Sauron’s main goal – world domination.
What About Annatar? Is Halbrand Him Too?
Halbrand And Annatar Are Both Sauron
In The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings appendices, Sauron’s fair form appeared to the Elves to help them forge the rings, calling itself Annatar. It seemed in season 1 as if Halbrand might take Annatar’s place, with his “call it a gift” line nodding to Annatar, whose name means “Lord of Gifts.” Indeed, Galadriel referred to Halbrand as Sauron’s fair form in season 2. However, evidently, Sauron has taken more than one of those in Rings of Power. In the show, one fair form gave way to another, and Halbrand shapeshifted into Annatar in season 2, episode 2.
In lore, Annatar guided Celebrimbor toward making all nineteen Rings of Power, which the show honors in season 2. In canon, it was only after Annatar left and slipped on the One Ring that the Elves realized that Annatar was actually Sauron. In The Rings of Power, the Elves of Lindon knew this from the start and were struggling to stop him. Meanwhile, Celebrimbor had a vague sense of unease about everything before he finally sussed out Annatar’s deception and was forced into finishing the rings by him.
Does Sauron Really Love Galadriel?
Sauron Loves In A Selfish Kind Of Way
One of The Rings of Power’s biggest swings is the implication of Sauron and Galadriel as lovers. Charlie Vickers and Morfydd Clark’s characters shared a simmering boiling sexual tension from the start, and finally admitted their feelings after the Battle of Tirharad. Upon finding out Halbrand’s secret, Galadriel rejected both allegiance and romance, but from season 2, it appears that feelings remained strong between them, despite Galadriel having to deal with nauseating conflict. Sauron’s offer to let Galadriel rule alongside him as Queen of Middle-earth appears to be an earnest offer that the Dark Lord desperately wants her to accept.
Sauron doesn’t need an Elf to help him, so one can only assume he’s at least a little bit in love with Galadriel, in his own selfish way. Sauron wouldn’t hesitate to use her, lie to her, subjugate her, or kill her. But love doesn’t work the same way for non-human entities, especially those resembling what humans describe as psychopaths among their own people. Essentially, Galadriel makes Sauron less bored, and he likes that. To him, that’s incredibly meaningful. Canonically, Sauron hated Elves and Galadriel was a beacon of purity. Despite that, their connection isn’t completely implausible.
Lord of the Rings has a history of Maiar and Elves falling in love (Melian and Thingol). Galadriel’s hair received plenty of unwanted attention, with Fëanor begging her for a lock or three. The thought of snogging the entity who murdered her brother makes Galadriel’s stomach turn, but her world is still a “dull gray” without him in season 2 – it’s hard getting over a demigod. In inserting Galadriel’s Lord of the Rings line to Frodo as Sauron’s pitch to Galadriel (“a queen… terrible as the dawn“), the show subtly implies that, in a way, maybe she never did.
What Is Sauron’s Plan In The Rings Of Power Season 2?
Sauron Manipulated Adar Into Attacking Eregion
After Galadriel outed Halbrand as Sauron in Eregion in season 1’s final episode, Sauron gave up the ghost of his Halbrand deception there and made his way to Mordor. Rings of Power season 2’s first episode shows what Sauron’s goal was there. Despite being an Ainur of immeasurably more power than Adar or his Orcs, taking on a whole legion (or four) with physical force might have been a stretch for Sauron, who was, ultimately, just a Wizard in a human’s body. So, he handed himself in, knowing Adar would recognize him from their previous run-in in season 1.
Sauron used his Halbrand disguise to manipulate Adar into setting him free, letting him go back to Eregion, and eventually attacking Eregion. Pretending to be Halbrand, Sauron smartly told Adar that he knew Sauron was in Eregion and that if he went there, he could use the Elves’ trust in him to find out more and tell Adar. Adar agreed, but Sauron, of course, never intended to send any information back to Adar. Sauron intended to let Adar stew in his impatience, giving him the impetus to attack Eregion, therefore destabilizing his two enemies – Adar and the Elves.
How Does Sauron Manipulate Celebrimbor In The Rings Of Power Season 2?
Sauron Poses As An Emissary Of The Valar
Sauron used spells, lies, persuasion, and good old-fashioned gaslighting to manipulate Celebrimbor in Rings of Power season 2. After finding out that Halbrand was Sauron, Galadriel told Celebrimbor not to treat with Halbrand at the end of season 1. In her hope to keep the forging of the rings going, Galadriel didn’t express the severity of this advice. She did not tell Celebrimbor that he shouldn’t treat with Halbrand because he was Sauron. This fatal mistake weakened her advice. While Celebrimbor heeded it at the start of season 2, he eventually gave in to Halbrand’s persistence.
Halbrand persuaded Celebrimbor to let him into Eregion to talk by offering news of the rings, which Celebrimbor was desperate for. This foot in the door was all Sauron needed to wrap Celebrimbor around his little finger. Sauron truthfully revealed himself to Celebrimbor as a being of the same race as the 15 Valar – Tolkien’s demigods. He did this in an intimidating display of semi-divine power whereby he transformed from Halbrand into his blonde Elf form, giving his name as Annatar. He claimed that the reason for Galadriel’s warning was her mistrust on finding out his true nature.
Being faithful to the Valar, Celebrimbor understandably bought this and agreed to Annatar’s pitch to forge more rings. From that point on, Sauron exploited Celebrimbor’s prideful desire to beat his famous ancestor, Fëanor, and forge something that would change the world. He repeatedly reminded Celebrimbor of this being the reward of their hard work together. Sauron also cast a spell on Celebrimbor that rendered him blind to the crumbling reality of Adar’s siege, observing blissful tranquility instead, helping him keep forging. This spell took visible effort, leaving Sauron gasping in season 2’s episode 6.
How Powerful Is Sauron As Annatar?
Annatar Is Sauron At His Peak
Sauron’s Annatar guise represents him at his peak. It wasn’t completely confirmed in canon, but it is very possible that Sauron used his Annatar form during his sojourn in Númenor as Ar-Pharazôn’s second-in-command, which also represented peak Sauron. It was only after the fall of Númenor that Sauron was left so depleted, he could never take fair form again. Before that, Sauron could shapeshift at will. The Annatar of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an intriguing portrayal of Sauron during his first and most uninhibited rise to power.
